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Final estimates for Wareham school building project due Oct. 1

Sep 25, 2018

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Final estimates for the proposed Decas School at Minot Forest will be presented to the School Building Committee on Monday, Oct. 1, along with finalized schematic plans. These numbers will determine the official tax burden on residents for the life of the project should a debt exclusion be approved during the October 2018 Town Meeting.

According to officials, current construction estimates for the new school are projected at around $90.3 million. This building would replace an aging Minot Forest and Decas Elementary with what Mount Vernon Group Architect Dennis Daly called an “innovation hub.” The school would create space for 1,020 students in kindergarten through the fourth grade.

The Massachusetts School Building Authority is set to reimburse the town approximately 74.98 percent of the project’s final construction cost, which currently sits at $59.8 million. Wareham residents would have to pay approximately $39.5 million based on this figure.

Voters will be asked to consider approving a debt exclusion for the school at the October 2018 Town Meeting on Monday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. in the Wareham High School auditorium. All registered voters may participate.

If approved, this debt exclusion would raise taxes on Wareham residents to pay for the project for the life of the debt.

Preliminary figures out of the Preferred Schematic Report Submission anticipates that the district share of $39.5 million translates to approximately $0.66 – $0.81 of additional tax burden per $1,000 of valuation. That’s roughly $170 – $210 annually for the average single-family home depending on the length of bond. The average single family home in Wareham for the fiscal year of 2018 was assessed at $258,143.

If the debt exclusion is approved, voters would then have to decide to fund the school during the state's Nov. 6 election as a ballot question.